When Paul LeBon of Highland Village landed in Cuba in early December, he expected business as usual for his 12th mission trip to the country, but it was anything but usual when a friend stopped by on December 16.
"An acquaintance who works within the Cuban government came to my apartment and told me she had some big news to share with me,” said LeBon. "The last thing that I expected her to say was that tomorrow Allan Gross is going back to the United States, and the 3 Heroes, as they're known in Cuba, are coming home."
The very next day LeBon watched from near a Cuban airport as Gross, a U.S. government contractor and prisoner in Cuba since 2009, entered a U.S. government plane and took off for America.
"That was the first government, US government jet that landed in Cuba since 1955,” said LeBon.
The opening of diplomatic relations between the countries is something LeBon has hoped to see for years, as Cuba has become a second home to him.
LeBon first began missionary work in Cuba in 2011 and says he fell in love with the work and the country.
Since then, he’s made 12 trips working with Catholic Charities at various locations.
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"I've worked in parishes, I’ve worked helping to organize the visit by Pope Benedict in 2012," he said.
Much of his work though has been with the citizens of Cuba, especially unwed/homeless young mothers.
It’s those regular folks that he hopes gain from the thawing relations.
LeBon described many in the country as fed on rations, living in crumbling infrastructure and under paid for the work they do.
"One guy said to me 'I’m an accountant, I make 35 dollars a month, how much would I make in the United States as an accountant?' and I thought, whoa...buckle up here!" he said. "Given the choice of
opportunity or freedom, they'll take the opportunity; they want the opportunity to make money."
There’s still a long way to go, LeBon admits, but he hopes that relations improving will open up the doors to allow more tourism in Cuba and new opportunity for Cubans to create a better living for themselves.
"You know what I see? We're talking, we're talking. We're going to have diplomats sitting down and talking about how can we make life better. That to me is amazing,” he said.
LeBon wrote a book about his experiences as a missionary and his hopes for Cuba’s future.
He’s also undergone treatment in the country for Early Onset Alzheimer’s and credits the skilled physicians there with his improved condition.
He plans to continue his mission work in the country as long as possible.
"As I was watching that plane taking off, I was thinking, 'wow the world has changed right now, the world is changing right in front of my eyes.'"
